A two-month-old mixed breed puppy has gone missing from the Island Sanctuary after a man visited the shelter positing as a prospective adopter.

The dog, Nigel, was born at the beginning of December when his stray mother gave birth to three puppies in a field. The owner of the field took the mother in, but the puppies were handed over to the sanctuary on Tuesday.

The following day, while the afternoon shift volunteers were racing against time to finish their work, a man turned up claiming he wanted to adopt a dog. After speaking to the volunteers, he walked around the sanctuary.

The volunteers went about their work but later realised the man had disappeared and the sanctuary gate was open. To their dismay, they found that Nigel had gone missing and immediately filed a report with the police. The sanctuary is appealing to anyone who has any information that would lead to the safe return of Nigel to call on 2165 9895 or 7901 8901. Informants can remain anonymous.